THE APPLIED INSPECTION
NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 114 - February 2004

FROM THE EDITOR

Communications
It is a Company requirement that all communications are fully understood by all employees. Communication methods include telephone calls, written (formal and informal), facsimile, electronic, memoranda and newsletters. If any item of any communication is not fully understood, clarification must be sought from the author of the communication.

Joke of the Month

I want to die peacefully in my sleep, just like my grandfather did. Not screaming and shouting like his passengers.

Keith Dashper

PERSONNEL

Ian Bunting Promoted
Congratulations to Ian, who has been promoted to head the management team at Burton. Ian answers directly to Ted Peake, who recognises that Ian's drive and motivation have contributed directly to Applied Inspection becoming a leading NDT company within the rail industry.

Baby Girl for Kelly Harper
Congratulations to Kelly and Daniel. Kelly gave birth to Emily Rose on 28 December 2003. She weighed in at 6lb 12 oz. Mother and daughter are both well.

Paul Goss Raises Money for Charity
Paul was featured in an article in the Burton Mail on 24 December 2003. The article describes his recovery from cancer at the age of twenty four, and how his attitude to life in the four years since has changed. He held a fund raising-concert for the charity Cancer Research at Bar XV in New Street, Burton on 27 December 2003. The town centre venue is co-owned by Paul and other Applied Inspection staff. He raised over £700 for the charity. Well done!

Congratulations
To Jack Rodgers who passed the PCN RT Basic Radiation Safety examination.

To Tom Leary who passed PCN Level 2 Radiographic Interpretation, Castings.

Thank You
A big thank you to Martin Long from all Applied Inspection staff. Martin is one of our top NDT engineers, but the big thank you relates to his other area of expertise, computer software. The computer that is used to pay the wages crashed, despite being part of a new state-of-the-art networked system at Chesterfield. The installers stated that it wasn't a hardware failure, so it was our problem. As it was just before pay day, the situation was serious. But Martin worked late to resolve the problem.

The National Lottery
Dawn Andrews at Holmewood and Keith Dashper at Ossett run the Applied Inspection lottery syndicate. There are currently 33 members who each pay £1.00 per week (stopped at source) which is put on the Saturday lottery. Anyone who is not a member, and who would like to join, should contact Dawn or Keith.

Our winnings to date are as follows:
1995 - £160.00 (40 weeks)
1996 - £297.00 (52 weeks)
1997 - £220.00 (52 weeks)
1998 - £251.00 (52 weeks)
1999 - £290.00 (52 weeks)
2000 - £270.00 (53 weeks)
2001 - £382.00 (52 weeks)
2002 - £330.00 (52 weeks)
January to June 2003 - £90.00 (26 weeks)
July - £30.00 (4 weeks)
August - £30.00 (5 weeks)
September - £10.00 (4 weeks)
October - £30.00 (4 weeks)
November - £30.00 (5 weeks)
6 December - £0.00
13 December - £10.00
20 December - £0.00
27 December - £0.00
3 January - £0.00
10 January - £0.00
17 January - £0.00
24 January - £10.00
Any errors in the above list will be corrected as soon as possible.

QUALITY & TRAINING

Standards and Specifications
BS EN ISO 15607: 2003 - Specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials - General rules, has superseded BS EN 288-1: 1992 which is now withdrawn.

Quote of the month

"Remember, no-one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Eleanor Roosevelt

NDT Training
The answers to the questions on Visual Testing in last month's NEWSLETTER are as follows:

1) A     2) D      3) C     4) D     

Here are some more questions, this time on Radiation Safety:

1. Which of the following is a unit of absorbed radiation?

     A. Sievert.
     B. Gray.
     C. Becquerel.
     D. Roentgen.

2. Which of the following isotopes has the shortest half life?

     A. Iridium.
     B. Thulium.
     C. Ytterbium.
     D. Cobalt.

3. When a body tissue cell is damaged by radiation:

     A. The cell may lose its ability to reproduce.
     B. The cell may die.
     C. Damage is caused by knocking an electron out of the orbit of its parent atom.
     D. All of the above.

4. Which cells in the human body are most effected by Ionising Radiation?

     A. White blood cells.
     B. Red blood cells.
     C. Plasma cells.
     D. Lens of the eye.

Applied Inspection's Granny

Applied Inspection has been involved with the ADOPT A GRANNY scheme run by Help the Aged for many years. We sponsor Rosa Maria Gormez who lives in Bogota, Columbia. She is looked after by the Provida organisation (Provida meaning 'for life').

The money we contribute to this scheme enables Provida to extend and update their care programmes, in addition to covering the cost of bare necessities for our adopted grandparent. The latest correspondence from Provida is as follows:

"Her diabetes is stable. She is on a strict diet and medication. She is happy because she has just received glasses and she no longer needs to ask for help to catch the bus. On mother's day her son-in-law treated her to lunch with all the family. She is still in the gymnastics group and never misses the Provida club meetings."

Help the Aged provides practical support to help older people live independent lives, particularly those who are frail, isolated or poor. It is a registered charity (No. 272786). Its Website is www.helptheaged.org.uk.

Ted Peake

Quality at Applied Inspection
Applied Inspection has a number of statements relating to its position on that subject. They are Vision, Mission, Quality, Training, Health & Safety, Environmental, Equal Opportunities and Alcohol & Drugs.

These statements are contained in the Company Rules booklet, available at each site on the Notice Board, and the Health & Safety booklet, issued to all employees. In addition, from time to time we also publish the statements in the NEWSLETTER. Here is our Vision Statement. We welcome comments and/or suggestions from staff in relation to any company policy statement. Please contact any director or e-mail us through the company web site.

Environmental policy statement
The Company is committed to the implementation and maintenance of an Environmental Management System in accordance with BS EN ISO 14001, with emphasis placed on prevention of adverse environmental effects rather than on detection and amelioration after occurrence.

We shall strive for continual improvement of our environmental performance at all levels in the organisation through:
  1. Ensuring that all employees understand the policy of the Company, receive sufficient motivation and possess the necessary skills to carry out their tasks efficiently.
  2. Ensuring all employees are consulted and informed on all matters affecting the environment.
  3. Carrying out non-destructive tests so as to minimise environmental effects
  4. Reducing waste and consumption of resources such as materials, fuel and energy.
  5. Reducing or eliminating the production of polluting releases to the environment.
  6. Meeting all regulatory and legislature requirements relating to the environmental effects of the business operation.
  7. Ensuring that, whenever possible, our purchasing of materials/services encourages suppliers to minimise environmental effects.
  8. Minimising the environmental effects of new developments through strategic planning.
  9. Committing to continual improvement by assessing the risks, aspects and impacts, and setting appropriate objectives and targets.
Applied Inspection Limited will carry out regular monitoring, auditing and management review of the Company's activities against this policy and the environmental management system.

This policy is available to the general public on request.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
PPE is provided free of charge by the Company and must be worn as regulations dictate. On site always ascertain the requirements for PPE and ensure that you are in full compliance before entering the work area, and also be prepared that the task you are to perform may require further PPE in addition to the minimum site requirements.

CONTACTS

Holmewood, Derbyshire: Tel: 01246 851864 (4 Lines) Fax: 01246 852243
Burton, Staffordshire: Tel: 01283 515163 (4 Lines) Fax: 01283 539729
Ossett, W Yorks: Tel/Fax: 01924 270006 (2 lines)
Glasgow, Scotland: Tel/Fax: 0141 3355191
Internet Website: www.appliedinspection.co.uk

Published by: Applied Inspection Ltd., Holmewood, Chesterfield, UK. Editor: D K Thomas 28/01/2004

Back to Newsletters Index

Back to Applied Inspection Home Page